


snowblind

by argentumlupine



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Female Friendship, Gen, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-01
Updated: 2013-06-01
Packaged: 2017-12-13 15:44:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/825994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/argentumlupine/pseuds/argentumlupine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Avatar Toph does not like the North Pole. (AU)</p>
<p>Includes both written fic and podfic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	snowblind

**Author's Note:**

> Written and recorded for the [People with Disabilities (PWD) Being Awesome Commentwork Fest](http://terajk.dreamwidth.org/123019.html). Originally posted at my journal [here](http://argentumlupine.dreamwidth.org/37515.html).
> 
> **Notes** : in this timeline, the Fire Nation never attacked the Northern Water Tribe. Toph is in her late teens/early 20s here.

**Podfic length: 0:05:21  
 **Podfic file size** : 5 MB (mp3)  
** **Download podfic:** [mp3 format](http://argentumlupine.parakaproductions.com/Podfic-mp3/Other/snowblind.mp3)

  
  


Avatar Toph does not like the North Pole. 

Who had the bright idea to build a city out of snow? Toph mentally thanks Iroh every day for teaching her the breath of fire technique because the North Pole? Cold. Very, very cold. Extremely unpleasant. Colder than any place has any right to be. 

She'd never expected to use her firebending so much, but it's basic survival here. Even bundled up in furs and a hood and boots like the rest of the Northern Water Tribe, Toph feels like she can never get warm. She is always cold, and always cranky, and she would rather be anywhere else than here. She wonders, sometimes, if learning from the Foggy Swamp Tribe would have been a better idea. At least it’s warm there.

The cold isn't the worst part, though. 

She can't feel the vibrations through the ground here. She’s blind. And she _hates_ it. 

It's worse than traveling through the desert. Things were weird and blurred there, but at least she had earth under it all. 

It's worse than when Crazy Aang took her flying, because she hadn't _expected_ to see while she was in the air, and it had only been the once. The rest of her airbending training had been done from solid ground.

The North Pole is the worst place she's ever been. It's so cold she has to wear thick socks and boots so her feet don't freeze. The buildings are all made of snow and ice. She is so removed from the earth that she can't feel it _at all_. It scares her, that she has to memorize where things are in her room and count her steps. It scares her, and it really, _really_ ticks her off that she can't take care of herself like she's used to doing. She hasn't felt helpless since she was a small child. 

She is bored and frustrated and lonely and angry and she just wants to go _home_.

She won't quit, though. She is the Avatar. If she could learn to bend fire and air through touch and instinct, she can deal with the inconvenience of needing someone to guide her from place to place. It rankles, but she tries to let it go. She is the Avatar. She is above such petty things. She breathes deeply, trying to meditate, hoping it will damp down the stubborn anger simmering in her blood. 

“Toph? May I come in?”

Toph waves a hand. “I'm not good company,” she warns.

Yue touches Toph on the shoulder, just a light touch, then sits down beside her. “You don't seem happy here,” Yue says. 

Toph makes a face. “Would you be, if you couldn't see?”

Yue is quiet for a moment. It was disconcerting at first, Yue's stillness and quiet, but Toph's gotten used to it in the past few days. It's kind of soothing, actually, and Toph finds herself relaxing a little. “You can see on land,” Yue says thoughtfully, “with your earthbending.”

“Yeah.”

Yue gets to her feet and reaches down to take Toph's hands. “Come with me.”

Toph gets up reluctantly. “Why?”

“Come on. I think you'll like this.”

Yue guides her through echoing corridors and across bridges. They don't even slow down when people call out to them, just keep walking until Toph's feet are numb again. Finally, they stop. 

“This is a sacred place,” Yue says. “Few are admitted here. But you are the Avatar. I should have thought of this earlier.” Toph hears a door open. “You'll need to duck down,” Yue says, and pulls her through the small doorway.

“It's warm,” Toph blurts as Yue leads her onto a bridge, and then they step onto grass, actual _grass_ , with actual _dirt_ underneath it, and Toph can feel the vibrations through the earth again. Everything is _clear_ and she knows where she is standing and where the ground slopes down to the water, and can feel the spirit gate in front of her and Yue behind her. She can’t help it: she throws herself onto the ground with a shout of joy. “LAND!” she says through giggles, digging her fingers into the grass. “Earth, I’ve missed you!”

Yue laughs, too, sitting down beside her. “Welcome to the Spirit Oasis.”

Toph pries off her boots and socks and spends a few moments rolling around in the grass, then lies still to bask in the warmth and the feel of the earth beneath her. She has missed it. Oh, how she has missed it. She feels relaxed for the first time since she arrived at the North Pole. 

“You look happier now.”

Toph sighs in relief. “I like it here. There is earth here. And it’s… peaceful,” she says. 

“A good place for an Avatar to meditate?” Yue asks.

“Mm.” Toph settles into the meditation stance Crazy Aang taught her. “Yeah, I think so.”

“I'll make sure no one bothers you, then.” Yue gets up and heads for the bridge.

“Can you ask Master Pakku if we can practice here?” Toph calls after her.

Yue laughs. “I doubt he will agree, but I will ask.”

Toph smiles. Maybe the North Pole isn't _all_ bad.


End file.
